With everyone waiting on the edge of their seats for the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the health care reform law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services June 12 released a report showing that some health sectors will have an uptick in their financial fortunes if the law is fully implemented.  

The report by CMS on health care spending trends found that due to the coverage expansion expected under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, spending on prescription drugs and physician services will rise at a faster rate in 2014 than in the previous few years. That’s because the newly insured are likely to devote a higher share of their medical spending to physician services and drugs, CMS said. Many of the newly insured are expected to visit the doctor more often, likely increasing the number of prescriptions they will get, the agency said.  

 For example, CMS said spending on prescription drugs is expected to grow 8.8 percent in 2014, 4.7 percentage points higher than if the reform law was not in place.